Soil disinfection is a standard procedure among crop growers in agriculture industry and in large scale home gardening. Soil disinfection is aimed to prevent negative influence of parasites and pathogens to the crop. The extermination of the soil parasites and pathogens is an attempt to make the soil more productive and healthier, by avoiding soil and plant diseases, which are passed by the soil parasites and pathogens, a tastier and healthier harvest is produced.
Commonly, organic and non-organic chemicals, in particular methyl bromide, are used to control pests and pathogens and to protect agricultural commodities. For example, methyl bromide may be used as a fumigant on many products, including fruits, nuts, vegetables, plants, bulbs, seeds, cotton, tobacco, bailed hay, and lumber, in railroad cars and in ships. Unfortunately, methyl bromide has been shown to have a significant ozone depleting potential, being responsible for approximately 5-10% of the global ozone destruction, as well as being acutely toxic. Therefore it is now an ever growing desire to reduce to a minimum of such disinfecting methods and in some cases chemical disinfecting is already forbidden.
Another known method for soil disinfecting uses steam to penetrate the soil and destroy worms, insects and other soil parasites. However, the use of the steam is not an effective treatment due to large-scale area which is needed to be treated. Moreover, steam penetration is a costly method due to the large-scale area which needs to be treated. U.S. Pat. No. 6,394,009 discloses a method and apparatus for the disinfection of soil Flames are generated into the soil, at the desired depth and at predetermined distances between them, so as to produce a relatively uniform heating of the soil. The flames may be produced by igniting streams of liquid or gaseous fuel, however this device is costly, the flames can't penetrate into the soil and are incapable of disinfecting it from the parasites and pathogens that are inside the soil. In methods for soil disinfection which includes the use of flames a uniform heating of the soil is very difficult to achieve.    JP 2001353205 discloses an apparatus for enhancing a disinfecting effect for burning soil by a radiating flame. However, the excessive heat used by this method tends to cause equipment failure in the rotating parts.    U.S. Pat. No. 6,655,082 discloses an apparatus for enhancing a disinfecting effect by throwing hot air into a soil treating chamber. A mobile soil-disinfecting device comprising a cultivating unit, a soil treating chamber, a heat exchanger, and a heat-generating unit. Although this method consumes a large amount of energy in order to reach the high temperature required to destroy soil pests, however the parasites and pathogens are not effectively destroyed and is not suitable for large areas.
Still another method exploits solar radiation Plastic sheets are spread on the soil, heated by the solar radiation and transmit the heat to the soil. This method is practical only when the solar radiation is sufficiently intense. This method is very time consuming.
Other known methods are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,986,841 which describes a mobile earth treating apparatus in which earth is scraped and broken up and then thrown up while being subjected to the effect of a spraying device or a flame thrower.    U.S. Pat. No. 5,199,212 discloses a soil decontamination system including a pulverizer and a heater volatilizing contaminants which are then burned as fuel in an internal combustion engine.    U.S. Pat. No. 5,553,414 discloses a mobile device for destroying soil borne pests, the device including a lift for raising soil from the ground, a drum in which the soil is heated and a discharger for discharging the treated soil in the ground.    U.S. Pat. No. 4,420,901 discloses a mobile device for flame treating of soil, the device including an elongated tube member in which the soil is conveyed by a screw-type conveyor while being flamed    U.S. Pat. No. 5,405,579 discloses a method for soil decontamination by passing excavated soil to a thermal treatment zone, heating the soil at super atmospheric pressure within a rotary drum, at the absence of oxygen, wherein resultant gasses pollutant steam are condensed and separated.    U.S. Pat. No. 5,776,422 discloses an apparatus for cleaning top soil, e.g. of a playground. The device is adapted for evenly sterilizing the soil by lifting it, passing it through the machine disinfecting it and then discharging it back.    U.S. Pat. No. 5,176,445 discloses retrofitting asphalt production plant into a device capable of efficiently decontaminating soil.    U.S. Pat. No. 5,430,691 discloses a shock wave generator for removing various deposits from industrial machinery parts, for example to clear clogged pipes or to ensure free flow of dry materials.
Thus there is a need for and would be advantageous to have an efficient method for soil disinfection and aeration and in particular, for the destruction of soil pests and pathogen. It is also a purpose of the invention to provide a method that can be applied to large and small areas a method which is not climatic dependent, nor require the application to the soil of environmentally and human detrimental chemicals.